Tin plate conveyer and cleaner



y 19, 1931- s. E. DEESCHER 1,805,980

TIN PLATE CONVEYER AND CLEANER Filed Jan. 28, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESS INVENTOR W IQLIMYUW May 19, 1931. s. E. DIESCHER TIN PLATE CONVEYER AND CLEANER Filed Jan. 28. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 19, 1931.

s. E. DIESCHER 1,805,980

TIN PLATE CONYEYER AND CLEANER Filed Jan. 28, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 WITNESS a uo rg INVENTOR Patented May 19, 1931 SAMUEL E. DIESCHER, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO S. DIESCEZER & SONS, OF PITTSBUEGH, PENTESYLEZQEEEA, E. DIESGHER AND AUGUST 1. DIESGHEB A PAETNERSEIE CGNSISTING OF SAMUEL TIN PLATE CONVEYER AND CLEANER Application filed January 28, 1927.

3 known that plate is passed through a body of molten tin and then through a body of grease, usually palm oil, which rests upon the molten tin at the discharge side of a pot. lVhen the plate is passing through the upper portion of the grease its coating of tin becomes set, and after it passes out of the pot the layer of grease adhering to it prevents oxidization of the tin while the plate is till hot. After the plate has cooled to a temperature below that at which the tin oxidizes in the atmosphere, the layer of grease not only serves no useful purpose, but must be removed to render the plate commercially useful. The usual practice is to remove all of the grease from the tin plate by passing the plate through a cleaning machine in which bran is variously rubbed upon the surface of the plate, the plate being transferred from a tin pot to a cleaning machine by various types of fixed conveyers which serve only to effect the transfer.

The object of this invention is to provide a conveyer which in addition to transferring tin plate from a coating pot to a clean ng machine also functions to remove a portion of the grease from the plate while it is being transferred.

A further object is to provide a conveyer which may be readily moved from its operative plate-transferring position to a position in which ready access may be had to a tin pot and other mechanism with which the conveyer is associated.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a plate transferring conveyer; Fig. 2 a front elevation of the conveyer seen in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a transverse sectional view to enlarged scale of a pair of plate-cleanlng rolls associated with the conveyer, the plane of view being indicated by the line IIITH, Fi 1; and Fig. 4 a vertical longitudinal central sectional view of the plate-cleaning rolls, the plane of view being indicated b the line IVIV, Fig. 1.

Serial No. 164,222.

In the practice of this invention there is arranged between a tin pot and a plate-cleaning machine a conveyer provided intermediate of its ends with one or more pairs of rolls between which the plate passes, and by which a portion of the grease adhering to the plate is removed from it. To this end the rolls are cooled so that relatively warm grease on the plate chills upon and adheres to the surfaces of the rolls and that the plate may be cooled, and provision is made for continuously removing this grease from the rolls so that clean roll faces are present to the plate. As far as this feature of the invention is concerned, the conveyer may be variously constructed and supported.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a conveyer which is supported in such manner that it may be moved from its operative position. Rather than supporting the plate-catching mechanism independently upon the top of a tinning pot, as is the customary practice, such mechanism is pref erably attached to the conveyer in such a manner that the mechanism may be removed from the top of a tin pot by swinging the conveyer to its inoperative position.

Having reference now to the drawings, the conveyer mechanism is mounted upon a suitable frame 1 provided intermediate of its ends with a transverse shaft 2 supported by suitable bearings 3 and 4:, respectively carried by standards 5 and 6. The forward or platereceiving end of the convey-er is shown as having attached to it a plate catcher 7 arranged above the discharge end of a tin pot 8, the frame of the conveyer being provided with adjustment bearing screws 9 adapted to upon the top of the tin pot in such a way as to maintain the catcher in a proper position above the pot. At the rear end of tile conveyer there is shown the front end of a branning i iachine 10. While the plate catcher 7 and the branning machine 10 may be of any desired forms, the former is preferably constructed as shown in my co-pending patent Serial No. 228,812, filed October 26, 1927, and the latter the same as shown in my co-pending patent application Serial No. 164,221, filed of even date herewith.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings the conveyer is shown in full lines in its operative position extending between tin pot S and cleaning machine 10. To move the conveyer from such position for the purpose of elevating the plate catcher from the tin pot, and also for the purpose of otherwise gaining access to the mechanism with which the conveyor is associated, provision is made for swinging the conveyor about the anis of ts supporting shaft 2. To accomplish th s, shaft 2 is preferably provided beyond its bearing 4 wi h a segmental worm gear which meshes with a vertically disposed worm shaft 16 adapted to be rotated by a hand crank 17. By turning this hand crank the conveyor may be swung to the position in which it is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the plate catcher 7 then being removed from the tin potfor access to it for removing the tinning rolls or for other operations. Also, when moved to its inoperative dotted line position, the conveyor is clear of the tin pot and cleaning machine.

For moving plate from the front to the rear of the conveyer, it is preferably provlded with a plurality of sets of parallel sprocketU chains 20, 21 and 22, chains being engager'r by sprocket wheels borne by shafts 23 and 24, chains 21 by sprocket wheels on shaft 25 and 26, and chains 22 by sprocket wheels on shafts 27 and 28. Shafts 28, 26 and 24 may be driven by an arrangement of SPI'OCKGt drive chain clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and requiring no further explanation, except to note that the first of these shafts, namely, shaft 28, is preferably driven by a sprocket chain 29 connected to a suitable part of the driving mechanism of the cleaning machine. \Vhen it is desired to move the conveyor to its inoperative position, chain 29 is disconnected.

The conveyer is shown as being provided with two pairs of plate-cleaning rolls 30, 31 and 32. 33. but a greater or less number of pairs of such rolls may be provided if desired. These two pairs of rolls and the mechanism associated with them are the same, the upper roll of each pair preferably being spring pressed towards the lower. As shown particularly in Fig. 3, rolls 30 and 31 comprise metal cylinders, the roll 30 having shafts 35 and 36 attached to it. and the roll 31 having shafts 37 and 38 attached to it. Shafts 35 and 37 are provided centrally with passageways, and the rolls with perforated pipes 60 and 61, for the flow of a roll-cooling medium, preferably water, through the shafts to the rolls. For removing the cooling water from the rolls. shafts 36 and 38 are provided centrally with passageways having inlets 62 and 63 adjacent to the inner walls of the rolls so that air will not be pocketed in the upper portions of the rolls. Suitable water supply connections including packed couplings are shownin the drawings for supplying water to the rolls, and similar connections are provided for the discharge water. Because the construction and arrangement of these connections is clear from the drawings, a detail description of them is omitted.

Provision is made for continuously removing from the rolls such grease as cools upon and adheres to their faces as plate is passed between them. As shown in Fig. 3, a roll scraping plate 40 bears upon the upper por tion of roll 30, the plate being attached to a bar 41 pivotally mounted at its ends in brackets 42 attached to frame 1. That the scraper plate may properly bear upon the roll 30, bar 41 and cleaning plate 40 attached to it are yieldingly urged towards the roll preferably by means of variably weighted bracket arms 43. In a similar manner provision is made for the cleaning of roll 31 by means of a cleaner plate 45 attached to a bar 46 yieldingly urged towards roll 31 by weighted brackets 47. Grease removed from roll 30 by scraper plate 40 falls into a suitable pan 48 arranged upon frame 1, and from such pan is conducted through a conduit 49 to a grease-receiving pan 50 having openings 51 (Fig. 3) in its bottom, from which grease may flow into a funnel 52 (Fig. 2) and from thence through a conduit 53 into a grease-receiving vessel 54. To prevent the grease from congealing upon bar 41, and also render it sufliciently fluid to flow in the manner explained, bar 41 may be provided with electric resistance elements 55 for heating it and the grease which passes downwardly upon it. Grease scraped from roll 31 by scraper plate 45 falls directly into pan 50, and from thence flows into vessel 54 in the manner explained, bar 46 preferably being heated by electric resistance elements 56 for the purpose explained With reference to bar 41 In the operation of the transfer mechanism, plate passing upwardly above the catcher is turned toward the conveyor by suitable guide arms 58 so that it falls upon conveyer chains 20. It is then carried by these chains into the bite of rolls 30 and 31 on the cooled surfaces of which the relatively warm grease from the plate chills and adheres. This grease is removed by scraper plates 40 and 45 which bear yieldingly upon the surfaces of the rolls so that the rolls continuously present clean faces to the plate as it passes upwardly. The plate is then carriedby conveyor chains 21 into the bite of rolls 32 and 33 where the cleaning operation just explained is re peated. From these rolls the plates are carried by chains 22 into plate-cleaning machine 10, the plate then having a very substantial portion of the grease removed from it so that the plate-cleaning machine is called upon to remove less grease than customarily required of it. This greatly facilitates the final cleaning operation in the cleaning machine and contributes materially towards the production of tin plate in which the grease is so thoroughly removed from it as to eliminate the blue cast which has heretofore been very troublesome anc diiiicult to avoid. At such times as may be necessary or desirable to remove the plate catcher from above the tin pot, or for other reasons to move the conveyer from its operative. position to gain access to the mechanism associated with it, the con veyer driving chain 29 may be disconnected and the conveyer swun to the position inclicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2 by turning hand crank 17.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illus trated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. owe-vol, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inven tion be practiced otherwise than as speciiically shown and described.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a tinning machine and a branning machine for cleaning tin plate, of a conveyer arranged between them for moving plate from the former to the latter, said conveyer having continuous plate catcher rolls attached to its forward end and arranged above said tinning machine when the conveyer is in its operative position, and said conveyer being pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis for swinging it and its attached plate catcher rolls from operative positions.

The combination with a tinning machine and a branning machine for cleaning tin plate, of a conveyor arranged between them for moving plate from the former to the latter, said conveyer having continuous plate catcher rolls attached to its forward end and arranged above said tinning machine when the conveyer is in its operative position, and means for moving said conveyer and its attached plate catcher rolls from operative positions.

3. The combination with a tinning machine and a branning machine for cleaning tin plate, of a conveyer arranged between them for moving plate from the former to the latter, said conveyer being supported on a horizontal axis substantially midway between its ends for moving it on its said axis, and means for swinging the conveyer on said axis.

l. The combination with a tinning machine and a branning machine for cleaning tin plate, of a conveyer arranged between them for moving plate from the former to the latter, said conveyer being provided intermediate of its ends with a pair of grease-removing rolls, means for cooling said rolls to cause grease from tin plate to adhere to the roll surfaces, and means for continuously removing grease from the surfaces of the rolls whereby clean roll surfaces are presented to the plate.

5. The combination with a tinning machine and a branning machine for cleaning tin plate, of a conveyer arranged between them for moving plate from the former t0 the latter, said conveyer being provided intermediate of its ends with a pair of greaseremoving rolls, means for supplying water to the interior of said rolls for cooling them, and scrapers bearing upon the surfaces of said rolls to continuously remove grease from them whereby clean roll surfaces are presented to the plate.

6. The combination with a tinning machine and a branning machine for cleaning tin plate, of a conveyer arranged between them for moving plate from the former to the latter, said conveyer being provided in termediate of its ends with a pair of grease removing rolls of which the upper is springpressed towards the latter, means for supplying water to the interior of said rolls for cooling them, and scrapers bearing upon and yieldingly urged towards the surfaces of said rolls to continuously remove grease from them whereby clean roll surfaces are continuously presented to the plate.

7 The combination with a tinning machine and a branning machine for cleaning tin plate, of a conveyer arranged between them for moving plate from the former to the latter, said conveyer being provided intermediate of its ends with a pair of greaseremoving rolls between which the plate passes and to the surfaces of which grease from the plate adheres, the faces of said rolls being continuous and coextensive with the width of tin plate passing between them, and

scrapers bearing upon the surfaces of the rolls for continuously removing grease from such surfaces whereby clean roll surfaces are presented to the plate.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

SAMUEL E. DIESCHER. 

